You had faced the power of the Shark Person!
Ren Tu's notification sounded in his ear.
Layer upon layer of black ripples suddenly spread through Chen Jin's eyes. [Glance of the Startled Swan] had activated!
Shark People were also known as Quan Ke, or Quan Xian.
They were aquatic beings shaped like humans, with the brows, eyes, noses, mouths, hands, and claws of beautiful women. Their skin was as white as jade, and their hair, which was five or six feet long, resembled a horse's tail. They wove silk as wide as a bolt of cloth, light, translucent, and pure as a cicada's wing. It was called Shark Silk, or Dragon Gauze.
In Search of the Supernatural, Volume Twelve: "Beyond the South Sea, there are Shark People who live in the water like fish. They never cease weaving, and when they weep, their tears can become pearls."
Threat level: Light red
Note: Shark People really are treasures from head to toe. Their tears become pearls, and they weave silk from water—those things aside, legend has it that the First Emperor used great quantities of Shark Person oil as lamps in the Imperial Mausoleum, which could burn forever without going out.
Chen Jin smiled brightly, pushed open the wooden door, and stepped aside to let her in. "The curfew's about to start, and the streets aren't safe. Little girl, don't stand out in the rain. Come inside and warm up."
As dusk settled beside the Wei River, the tiered eaves of Xianyang Palace were drenched in the fading sunlight.
The palace halls atop North Slope loomed like a dormant giant beast. Their foundations were built of blue-gray rammed earth, and their platforms rose several yards from the ground, carved by artisans with hidden diamond patterns. Every bluestone step had been polished smooth as jade, an allusion to the Qin law's "orderly severity."
Candlelight flickered in the dim palace chamber. A man dressed in a dark robe, looking like an Alchemist, sat opposite a brawny, imposing man with the presence of a tiger. A chessboard lay between them. The burly man's position was on the verge of collapse; his opponent had driven him back at every turn, and beads of sweat glistened at his temples.
He suddenly closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them, tossed the piece in his hand onto the board with a crisp click, and changed the subject. "A little fish just killed a merchant and a middleman."
The Alchemist across from him looked surprised. "Drivers, boatmen, innkeepers, and brokers deserve to die even when they're innocent. Merchants are even lower than commoners, and you're actually concerned about them now? You're not just stalling, are you? You can simply admit defeat."
"That's not how it works. Across all the land, none are not the king's subjects. They're all His Majesty's people. We can't just let a beast kill them, can we?"
"Has anyone reported it? If someone reports it, we'll deal with it. If no one does, then forget it. If the people don't bring a case, the officials don't investigate. You think you're not busy enough already?"
The burly man sighed. "Alas... I really have been too busy lately. The Ling Canal is complete, Nanyue has submitted, and you've even returned from the immortal mountains. It's said that even Xu Fu, the one in whom His Majesty places the greatest hopes, will soon be returning from the east... So many major matters have come together. For some reason, I just can't feel at ease."
At that, the Alchemist didn't even look up. He kept his attention on the chessboard, his tone calm. "As the Zhou proverb goes: 'Those who see fish in the depths invite misfortune; those who discern what is hidden bring calamity upon themselves.' Seeing too clearly isn't always a blessing. We should simply do what falls within our duties. Why worry so much?"
He gently set down a piece with a soft click. "Let's play. Let's play."
The girl stepped over the threshold timidly, her wet hair trailing along the ground and leaving a streak of water behind.
She lowered her head and hid her face, seeming either shy or cold.
But the instant she had fully stepped into the courtyard—
Everything changed!
She jerked her head up. Her pupils shrank to slits, and an inhuman, dusky blue glow shone in her eyes.
Her once-pretty little face twisted like a beast's. Her lips curled back, revealing two rows of densely packed, long, needle-sharp teeth!
" Sssha—!"
She let out a shrill cry that sounded nothing like a human voice. The sleeves on her arms ripped with a "rrrip," and her elbows bent backward at an unnatural angle. Two pale fins, thin as cicada wings yet razor-sharp, sprang out, their edges gleaming with a metallic chill.
At the same time, she flicked her wrists and somehow produced two translucent short blades, seemingly formed from flowing water. With a gust of fishy wind, she lunged straight for Chen Jin's face!
The attack came in an instant, but Chen Jin had been ready.
He reacted with lightning speed, dodging the thrust with a nimble sidestep. At the same time, he lowered his body and center of gravity, settling into a fighting stance.
The Shark Person's attack missed. She followed through with a horizontal slash from both blades, aiming straight for his waist!
Chen Jin didn't retreat. He moved in close with a swaying dodge, slipping inside her reach. His left hand parried her weapon arm, while his right fist shot upward in a swift uppercut to her chin!
"Thud!"
The Shark Person's head snapped back with the dull impact. She let out an angry hiss, and her fins sliced toward Chen Jin's neck like blades!
Chen Jin ducked to avoid them and swept a low kick at her supporting leg.
The Shark Person staggered, then spun with the momentum, stabbing at him in a flurry of blows. Her moves were vicious and unpredictable, nothing like the martial arts of the human world.
Chen Jin's mind was still, his gaze cold and steady.
Seventy percent proficiency in mixed martial arts!
Parry, clinch, elbow strike, knee strike...
Amid the rain, the sounds of bodies colliding, blades cutting through the air, and bestial howls rang out without pause.
The Shark Person failed to bring him down after a prolonged assault. Blue light flickered in her eyes as she suddenly feinted. The aura around her vanished in an instant, becoming elusive and uncertain.
Her silhouette swayed, then seemed to merge with the increasingly dense curtain of rain, her presence almost completely disappearing.
"Whoosh!"
A water blade shot out of the rain to Chen Jin's left!
Chen Jin dodged with a tactical side roll. A deep gash remained in the ground where he had been standing.
Then the attacks came from the right, from behind... They struck from every direction. The Shark Person used the torrential rain to conceal herself perfectly, forming water blades from the raindrops to launch her ambushes. Whether they hit or missed, each blade immediately scattered into water, leaving nothing to track.
Chen Jin focused his senses. Several deep gashes had already appeared on his body, but they quickly healed.
His thoughts raced. He deliberately left an opening, letting his guard falter for an instant and exposing his neck.
Just as he expected—!
The next moment, the Shark Person's silhouette suddenly coalesced from the dense curtain of rain like a ghost. Reeking of fish, she lunged at him, her mouth full of sharp teeth snapping viciously toward his throat!
"Crack!" Her fangs pierced his flesh and even touched bone!
Yet Chen Jin's face showed no pain. Instead, the instant she bit down, his arms snapped shut around her like iron pincers!
He executed a textbook takedown, locking the Shark Person's body tight and pinning her against his chest!
The Shark Person struggled frantically, horrified.
The fins at her elbows slashed wildly at Chen Jin's arms and ribs, leaving wounds deep enough to expose bone. But before blood could even well up, his flesh began to writhe and heal.
Her other water blade stabbed again and again into Chen Jin's abdomen, but it was like stabbing into tough gel. The wounds quickly closed as soon as the blade was pulled free.
None of the injuries caused Chen Jin any pain or concern.
At last, fear flashed through the Shark Person's eyes. She jerked her head up, tore herself away from Chen Jin's throat, and opened her tooth-filled mouth to unleash an ear-piercing shriek!
"Eeee—yaaah!!!"
The sound pierced the curtain of rain and the night sky, echoing across the entire neighborhood.
Almost at the same time, the countless floating "Law Eyes" in the sky seemed to be roused by the noise, their indifferent gazes shifting slightly.
The Identity Tablet at Chen Jin's waist warmed faintly. A line of tiny text appeared, then vanished:
[Disturbing the peace late at night. Fine: twenty Spirit Coins.]